This whole numb hand thing...

[Mayniac]

I suffer from this, and being in the health and safety game and having used power tools for years, I can say that it has all the symptoms of HAVS, (that's hand arm vibration syndrome) commonly known as vibration white finger.

Rattling down all but the smoothest roads exposes your hands to vibrations similair to when using power tools.

It's an inexact science, with several different factors affecting the condition, including personal factors such as blood circulation, whether you smoke, and if you suffer from Renauds syndrome.

The only sure fire way to prevent it is to cut down on exposure time, i.e. ride less.

The jury is still out on gloves for industrial use. Subjective evidence suggests they work for some people but they can also make you grip the bars tighter and/or restrict circulation, both of which make things worse.

Some advice based on industrial principles:

-Don't grip the bars too tightly, or put too much weight through onto your hands.

-Adjust your grip position frequently to allow blood to circulate properly and avoid deadening of the hands. Have a regular 'shake out'. You'll probably do this anyway as a natural reaction to pins and needles.

-Keep your hands warm. Not a problem at this time of year, but if they go numb on winter rides you could be making things worse.

Tingling and numbness are the early symptoms of the condition, and are reversible in most cases. If your fingers start going white, (then blue, then BLACK) its getting serious.

 

[mookie]

Tingling and numbness are the early symptoms of the condition, and are reversible in most cases. If your fingers start going white, (then blue, then BLACK) its getting serious.

OMG! I'm only commuting too!! Jeezo. I haven't been on the bike since last week now for various reasons, the most recent a throat infection but I still have a little numbness in the bottom left bit of the left palm - not good really!

 

[Fab Foodie]

Read this and get better balanced on your bike. Most people thease days have their saddles too far forward over the cranks and thus too much weight on their hands. Sit back, get balance ad then adjust the bars to meet you, not the other way round.

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/fitting.htm

 

[sparkyman]

I have added A dence foam strip along the top of my drop bars to try to solve the numb fingers proplem (hoping this takes the edge off on long rides) I will let you know how it works out.

Sp4rkyM4n

 

[Scoosh]

After changing to a new bike (road, drop bars), I started to get numb hands , so set out to track down possible causes.

Came up with:
1 - new riding position, taking some time to train my body that 'this is how it is going to be'
2 - longer reach to bars (see 1 above)
3 - deeper drop to drops (see 1 above)
4 - wider bars on new bike (see 1 above)
5 - as a result of wider bars, I tend to stick my elbows out more, so now make a conscious effort to 'roll my elbows in'

Not perfect yet but getting better.

HTH

 

[scaryant]

I had this for a while when I first started riding again (after a very long time off and having put on several kgs) on my left hand - I put it down to poor circulation. After putting in a few hundred kms over the past 4 months it doesn't happen any more... I would just keep at it, if you feel a little numbness in your hand sit up in your saddle and take your left hand off the bar, give your arm a shake and allow the blood to flow a bit.

If you can ride without a backpack, but if you must when you rest your hand lift the strap on that side because there is a major artery that runs down the front of your shoulder which can become restricted by weight.

 

[lukesdad]

the problem could be down to pressure on the nerve that runs thru the heel of the hand and is quite common, Frequent changing of hand position on bars will heelp so will bar ends and so will not leaning on the bars to support your weight.

 

[Davidc]

I'm sure this is caused by restricted blood flow, but wish that I could find a definite answer from an anatomist.

I started to get this after losing one of the arteries in my left arm.

Gel gloves - helped a lot.
Working out a regime of moving the hand every 5 minutes - helped a lot.
Bar ends to give an alternative position - helped a lot but inconvenient.

The thing that's made the biggest difference - using a tourer with drop bars for longer rides and making sure I move the hand position frequently.

I spent 5 hours (riding time) on the bike yesterday with no problems. (And did my first over 50 mile ride for nearly 20 years, with no ill effects this morning, which was good).

 

[byegad]

I tried gel mitts, higher handlebar and butterfly bars to get lots of different positions to chnge between.

They all put off the numbness but if I rode far enough it would come back. I eventually cured it completely, I now ride 100% recumbent, no numb hands, sore neck, painful elbows or anything else.

 

[ASC1951]

I suffer from this, and being in the health and safety game and having used power tools for years, I can say that it has all the symptoms of HAVS, (that's hand arm vibration syndrome) commonly known as vibration white finger.

Rattling down all but the smoothest roads exposes your hands to vibrations similair to when using power tools.

Given that Mookie is a female recreational cyclist and only gets numbness in the heel of her left hand, it is staggeringly unlikely to be VWF.

Listen to MacB, Mookie - as they say, he speaks much wisdom.

It may even be worth paying for a proper fitting session at a good LBS, depending on how much you want to spend on cycling. I suspect that various pains and niggles around the body will persist until you get your strength and fitness back to where you want it, but the correct riding position is where you need to start. When you have that, it makes such a difference - I can ride seven or eight hours at a stretch on standard drops without padded bars or even gloves.

 

[dellzeqq]

none of us know the answer to this. My guess, and it would be no more than that, would be that changing to carbon forks, and, possibly, bars would do the trick. My riding position is forward, stretched, I don't wear gloves and still don't have a problem on carbon (or steel), but on aluminium I'm in real trouble.

And then again, it might be position, as McB suggests - so my advice would be to go out with your local CTC group, many of whom will have decades of experience, and ask them to watch you ride and offer any advice they might.

A word of warning. I've seen people go for expensive fitting services and been no better off as a result. And the advice I've received from bike shops and tried out has always resulted in pain.

 

[jonny jeez]

Hi Mookie, I also suffer from this, usually after about 50mins in the saddle, and have always done.

My little fingers go totally numb and the sides of my arms ache in sympathy (probably as an over compensation thing).

I use the spesh gel mitts, which do definitely help to delay the onset (I once forgot them and started going "numb" at about 20 mins!!) but are not a cure I'm afriad.

I also raised my handlebars a fraction to see if the shift in position would help (I like my bars quite low, which increases pressure on my hands...thats a MTB hangover I'm afriad...gives lots of front traction in the mub) but this didn't seem to do anything, so dropped them back.

I have ridden different bikes that "felt" more comfortable but always ended with the same issue so I agree that its probably as much dose to vibration etc as position.

I am a big guy (6'.2'') and built a bit like the average rugger player, I have very broad shoulders and a big chest so maybe its a "top heavy" issue more than over all weight as my lower half is pretty trim (if I do say so myself)...sorry this all sounds faintly vain...sorry...just trying to paint a mental picture for you to draw a comparison.

how long does it take for the symptoms to cut in?...is this period extending at all as you ride more?

PS, definitely find it worse in the winter..but also improves with regularity (I used to get it after 30 mins or so, now its 50, hopefully soon it will be 90 and so I'll not feel it at all...as I dont plan to ride that long each day)...perhaps you can just grin and bare it for a while untill your body adjusts and, like me, you drop a little weight from cycling.

Good luck, stick with it

Jonny

 

[jonny jeez]

My guess, and it would be no more than that, would be that changing to carbon forks, and, possibly, bars would do the trick. .

Can't say that i think this would help, I already ride with with front shocks (despite the weight disadvantage) and it still gets to me after 50 mins or so.

 

[AndyJB]

Mookie, I had the same issue, strange looks carrying a limp arm around with you. I changed what I hold onto to the shrouds, watching the TdF showed me how, rest forearms on the bars. This way you can change the positioning of the fingers, two below the levers then one etc etc, just keep changing your positioning. Pushing harder with your legs eventually takes your mind off pain in the rest of your body.

I suffer from chafing, that certainly takes my mind off it, in fact I would prefer the numbness to relocate to the nether regions for the duration. Am now looking for the ultimate 'my bum' shape saddle.

 

[Bill Gates]

Yes it's quite common. I suffer from it when I'm riding slow/steady as there is more pressure on the hands (and bum). Take one hand off the handlebars at a time and clench and then release your hand three or four times and the numbness is gone.